


Sylphie's Trials.

by WinterFaerie



Series: A Realm Reborn: Shion's beginning. [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: fighting the elements, student teacher wholesomeness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterFaerie/pseuds/WinterFaerie
Summary: Shion spends her 'rest day' teaching her fellow conjurer, Sylphie Sweetwind about the elements that they utilize in conjury.
Series: A Realm Reborn: Shion's beginning. [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1917160
Kudos: 2





	Sylphie's Trials.

“𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!”

With Sylphie’s assurance, Shion nodded. Sylphie seemed pensive if not a little nervous about the lesson and Shion mirrored those feelings but under a cool expression that gave little indication that her heart was in fact trying to leap right out of her throat. 

The morning had originally started off with Shion reflecting on how the Elder Seedseer asked her to rest then return to her when she was feeling better. At first, Shion thought to spend her day of rest in bed literally ‘resting’ but the more she stared up at the ceiling the more restless she became. So much had happened in just the short span of a few days. 

Crystals, corrupted nature sprites, monsters, primals, beastmen, tails of the calamity, the mother crystal, Greenbliss, the favor of the elemental and of course ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴄʜᴏ. Shion had no idea how to feel about any of it and she was certain that these things weren’t something she could up and ignore since they seemed to seek her out no matter what she did. The Echo was also something. Something that supposedly made her ‘special’. She didn’t want to be special! She just wanted to make gil doing normal, honest work then send it home to her family so they could have a better life until she found a way to free them. 

There was so much in her head that she couldn’t help but slide out of bed and make her way to Stillglade Fane. If she could figure out how to meditate with nature or even have some sort of study material to focus on, perhaps she would feel better. Distraction received. Brother E-Sumi-Yan decided that Shion was capable of helping teach his previously unwilling student, Sylphie Sweetwind, the fundamentals of elements. 

~*~*~*~*~ 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡. 

Now, she was standing in Bentbranch again and the familiar peppery scent of gysahl greens and earthy damp soil was making her jittery. Deep down Shion was aware that she had come a long way in not only her studies but her courage as well. That still didn’t help her shake the feeling of dread that came with standing against the corruption of the world around her. 

“𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺—“ She pulled her wand wand out, lifting her buckler with her other arm to its proper position in front of her. “𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯.” 

As soon as she said those words, she fixed her gaze on the patch of earth dressed in a flowing gown of dark smog. The gardeners from last time stood back, watching with her jaws slack and their bodies tended to run. Everyone jumped except for Shion when the groin tumbled angrily and from it burst the tainted earth sprite. Dirt and pebbles flew causing Sylphie to gasp and stagger back towards the fence. 

Shion was not caught off guard this time and her own spell was launched just in time. Two massive hunks of earth collided midair with a violent clack and crumbling. The sound was felt in Shion’s core and she recalled how hard she was hit during her own lesson. How she didn’t die was a mystery to her but the same could have been said about the other lessons and various missions and tasks she was given. How was she still alive? 

The urge to glance over to see Sylphie’s reaction to the sprite was close to overwhelming but Shion knew that if she took her eyes off the corrupted sprite that she could quite possibly get dinged again. That wasn’t exactly something she wanted Sylphie to see. The earth sprite reeled back again and three large chunks were ripped up and sent soaring at the raen. Sylphie gasped, flinching back in her fright but Shion lifted her buckler, quickly swinging it out to catch the first, sending it plummeting off to the ground just left of her. The next rock she danced out of the way of, brows furrowed. The third did get her though, right in the side. Shion let out a pained cry that was echoed by a frightened one from Sylphie. Staggering back she managed to remain on her feet as her heels dug into the ground. 

Shion grit her teeth and with a sweep of her wand, picked the stones right back up from the ground and sent them careening towards the angry glowing sprite. The crystal cracked and with it, the tainted energy was released. A bright light flashed and the earth was cleansed of its corruption. It was over so fast. 

“𝘈𝘢𝘢𝘩! 𝘖-𝘰𝘩. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥.. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.” As she spoke, there seemed to be an awe that settled in her. “𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭-” She cut herself off and shook her head.“𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘶𝘩𝘮, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥.. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩.” And she walked away. 

Shion was surprised by this odd reaction. She couldn’t tell whether she was scared, astounded or impatient. Perhaps a mix of all three? Her hand moved to her side and she held herself for a second before sighing and wandering after the young woman. 

The gardeners were thankful they didn’t have to scoop Shion off the ground this time and went back to tending their crops. 

~*~*~*~*~ 𝐀𝐢𝐫.

The next trial brought them to a massive, hollowed log that made a sort of tunnel between Bentbranch and the Bannock. The sight of it caused her to bite her lip and hesitate. Possibly because of the twisted path in her dream - the one that seemed to never end. Thankfully she could not only see through to the other side clearly but their quarry as well. 

“Okay, there it is… I’ll just stand back and let you do your thing.” Sylphie muttered, eyeing the plume of corruption before them. 

Shion’s trial by air was traumatic. Even more so than the first one. She had to deal with swarms of bees and what she’s now come to know as a ‘voidsent’ along with the actual manifestation of air after it was tainted with corruption. Possibly the corruption brought on by that void creature, in fact. What she saw before her now seemed much more tame in comparison. Even the feeling of ‘bad’ energy that radiated from it was nowhere near as stifling as the energy around her own trial. 

Shion pulled her wand out again with one hand, the other still held over her bruised side. Her eyelids fell and she let out a slow breath before immediately taking another in, filling her lungs - just in preparation. The tainted sprite appeared with a sudden gust that gathered around a similar tainted core, whipping around them and creating a sort of breezeway out of the massive log they stood in. 

Sylphie lifted her arm to shield her eyes while still watching Shion, her aqua eyes widening as she gazed upon the turbulent force of nature versus the newly studied mage before her. Dark robes flapped around wildly as they caught the air but Shion stood firm, breathing again but slowly as she focused on her own cast. A rush of warm air flooded forward and fought back against the whipping angry storm and kept the cold, stinging air from cutting through to their cores. Another forceful blast came from Shion and in one last attempt to fight back, the sprite seemed to surge with more furocity causing her to bow her head slightly. Still she grit her teeth and was soon victorious. 

The pure air granted to her by the elementals for this spell whirled around and captured the tainted sprite, dancing and pulling it apart like a ball of yawn only for the corrupt energy to be dispelled. Then, all was calm. Shion’s robes fell back around her legs and only the sound of her breathing could be heard until Sylphie finally chimed in again with her observation. 

“𝘛-𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘦! 𝘐𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦… 𝘐 … 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦???” She seemed completely surprised and then went back to looking somewhat pensive.“𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦.” And so they headed off again, this time, together. 

~*~*~*~*~ Water. 

On their way to Lilystone, the grey sky above began to weep. Rain fell around them. Shion pulled up her hood and shivered but Sylphie didn’t seem to mind the weather at all. Nor did she comment on it. In fact, she said nothing the majority of the walk out towards the lake. Shion took brief glances at her, curious but too anxious to say anything. She had her own doubts. Was she properly teaching this girl or was she just scaring her further away from the elemental portions of their practice? This must have been how Hearer Wulfiue must have felt with Shion being HER first student. The only reassurance Shion had that told her that Sylphie /wasn’t/ terrified out of her mind was the fact that she strode on ahead of Shion. Almost as if she were in a hurry to get to the next trial. 

Soon, they reach the series of mini islands where a puddle of corruption made itself known ahead. Bubbling menacingly, the tainted aether began to shift and take shape as the sprite manifested itself /much/ sooner than Shion thought it would. Sylphie was several fulms ahead of her and froze on the spot like a deer facing a hunter. Shion gasped and charged forward, legs pushing her ever faster to place herself between the new conjurer and the tainted entity. Shion slid against the wet stone, her boots nearly losing traction. Her arms flew up and she looked at Sylphie with wild panic etched into her features. 

“𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠! 𝙃𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙮!”

Sylphie’s lower lip quivered and she took steps back until her heel no longer felt stone beneath it. She twisted, looking back at the shallows of the lake before returning her attention to Shion. The water sprite lashed out at the older conjurer’s back, the tendril-like stream of water whipping across her shoulders. It stung but thankfully did nothing but leave a welt. Her new robes were thick enough to withstand the attack. Shion hissed inwardly through her teeth and then spun around, borrowing the energy she needed. Water was all around them. In the air, falling to the ground, deep within the pores of the stone they stood on, in the plants, even in their own bodies not to mention the obvious lake with their little duel was taking place  
.  
With anger causing her blue eyes to flare with rage induced heat, Shion cast fluid aura. Water gathered around her in long purified streams that glimmered with light. They were as beautiful as they were useful. They reached out from behind Shion, coiling tight around the sprite to bind it. 

The corruption tried to leak out, slithering from the sprite and spreading to the puddle beneath Shion’s feet. Thankfully, she noticed and danced backwards a step or two before blasting away that puddle with a rush of air. The sprite let out a two toned, low whine as it struggled but soon was free from its Shion’s bind spell. It spit out a large ball of water which managed to smack Shion’s shoulder causing her to jerk back and wince. A tiny, worried sound from behind her caused her to very quickly straighten herself again. She swept up with her wand and sent several large rocks crashing into the sprite, battering it back again whilst also taking steps forward with the momentum of her spell. Soon, she was close enough to thrust her hand forward into the sprite before grabbing the solid core. Her fingers tightened around it, white knuckled until it gave way under the force and popped. The water fell around Shion’s hand and then began to shimmer as the corruption was dispelled. Soon, Shion was left standing in silence again… trying to catch her breath as she loosed her fingers. A small wisp of dark aether danced off her palm and vanished into the air. 

The clouds above then parted as the rain stopped. The sun cast down rays of light that made the lake shimmer. The rain left the air thick with humidity but also incredibly clean. The plants around them were more vibrant and soon, Shion lowered her arm and turned to look at Sylphie who was staring past her at the water. 

“"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭." She murmured, “𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳… 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥.” The smallest of smiles turned Sylphie’s lips and then she concluded with, “𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸.” 

Shion’s eyes widened as she watched Sylphie walk off again. A heavy warmth in her chest caused her to smile as well but oddly enough, tears filled her eyes again. Tears of relief perhaps? Pride? She exhaled slowly and turned to take a moment to look out at the lake again before she decided to leave. A short jog allowed her to catch up with Sylphie and on their way back, they traveled in content silence.


End file.
